Return to chronology Jan 2001
The best-selling Harry Potter series of children's books by J.K. Rowling tops the list of books most challenged for the second year in a row. According to the American Library Association’s (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom, Harry Potter first entered the list last year, rising to the top after only three months. The number of challenges to Harry Potter reported in 2000 is triple that of 1999. The series continues to draw complaints from parents and others concerned about the books’ alleged occult and satanic theme, religious viewpoint, anti-family approach, and violence.
The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom received a total of 646 challenges in 2000, up from 472 in 1999. A challenge is defined as a formal, written complaint filed with a library or school about a book’s content or appropriateness. Schools, school libraries, and public libraries report the majority of challenges.
The number of challenges reflects only those incidents reported, according to Judith F. Krug, director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom. She estimates that less than one-quarter of all challenges are reported and recorded.
The "Ten Most Challenged Books of 2000" reflect a wide variety of themes. The books, in order of most frequently challenged are:
The top three most challenged books of 2000 are the same as 1999, with the "The Chocolate War," and the Alice series exchanging places. The Scary Stories series, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," "The Chocolate War," and "Of Mice and Men," all were among the ten most frequently challenged books of the last decade.
For more information about the most challenged books of the decade, please see http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oif/top100bannedbooks.html.
Or, to remain in this local area, see 100 most frequently challenged books of 1990-99 on this site.
Return to chronology Jan 2001
Texas State Top Ten Challenged Books of 2001 List
(Return to chronology 20 Sep 2002)
There were 218 challenges to remove 134 books [an average of 1.6 issue-based challenges to each work] from school libraries across the state of Texas in 2001. According to the annual report on challenges by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas. [Not to be confused with the ALA top ten list.]
The Harry Potter series was challenged 71 times in 21 different school districts, with all of the challenges being rejected.
The 218 challenges break down as follows:
The top ten challenged works or series, and the reasons for the challenge, in descending order are:
1. Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling: wizardry and magic.
2. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck: offensive language, unsuited to age group.
3. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier: offensive language, unsuited to age group.
4. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou: sexual content, racism, offensive language, violence, unsuited to age group.
5. Summer of My German Soldier, by Bette Greene: racism, offensive language, sexually explicit.
6. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger: offensive language, unsuited to age group.
7. Alice series, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor: sexually explicit, offensive language, unsuited to age group.
8. Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous: sexually explicit, offensive language, drug use.
9. Fallen Angels, by Walter Dean Myers: offensive language, unsuited to age group.
10. Blood and Chocolate, by Annette Curtis Klause: sexually explicit, unsuited to age group.
This list was compiled by the American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom.
Other challenges were to:
Will Harrell, executive director of the ACLU of Texas, commented on this state of affairs, "What we find alarming is that we are finding an increase of challenges and an even more intensified increase of certain types of challenges." A full one third of the challenges were based on objections to mysticism and paganism. That would have been the 71 challenges to Harry Potter.
The greatest number of challenges in any one school district was in the Ector County school district: which reported in with ten challenges. The greatest number of bannings, however, was in the Vidor Independent School District. There were six books banned here, including a book about former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun: which a parent had objected to because it contained a reference to Roe vs: Wade. The parent found this reference inappropriate for elementary schools. Mr. Harrell reportedly commented that most of the challenges in Vidor were "blatantly bigotted".
The single most banned book, which apparently was not challenged all that often as it did not make the top ten list, was Taming the Star Runner, by S.E. Hinton.
(Return to chronology 20 Sep 2002)